Amid Enrollment Pinch, Tighter Standards Put on Borrowing Program in 2011 in Line to Be Loosened

The Obama administration is moving to ease access to student loans for parents with damaged credit, a policy reversal that could saddle poor families with piles of debt but also boost college enrollment.

Under a plan likely to take effect next year, the Education Department would check the past two years of a borrower's credit, instead of the current standard of five, for blemishes such as delinquencies or debts in collection. Also, any delinquent debts below $2,085 would be overlooked; currently, delinquencies of any amount...